Divergent Replica
by GrithicAustere
Summary: Twice now, a person from the Modern Era has fallen into the Higurashi shrine's well, their actions greatly affecting the Feudal Era they had become a part of. Now one more will do the same; However, he may not be the most savory character... O.C. X Rin.
1. Ch 1: The Man Whom Refused to End

**Before you begin, there are some events prior to this story that need to be addressed; as this takes place after the plot of Amaterusa's Fanfiction 'Altruistic Memories'. It's a good piece, and I suggest you read it, however I will briefly summarize what her story has changed in the world of Inu Yasha that this story has adapted from. Any of you that has decided to read Altruistic Memories first, please do not read past this point- considering this takes off a few years after the end of her story, spoilers will basically ensue from this point on in the summary. We are friends in the same house, and often share our ideas and plans with one another, so this isn't exactly unorthodox.**

**The main differences are; 1) All demons have become human. This may seem to take a practical element away from Inu Yasha, but consider this- As history would have that Demons disappeared from existence somehow (considering Kagome's modern era is lacking them) her story well explained that point. However, as in the Feudal Era this has only happened recently many demons-now-humans have kept some traits that didn't necessarily have to change; such as size, and with it strength, perhaps some extra limbs, etcetera. These people obviously still present dilemma in comparison to normal human beings. Also, a great amount of strife stemming from oppressed villagers and demonic blood-feuds are now up in the air due to newfound equality as Demons have become human, thus power differences have been drastically scaled.**

**2) Sesshomaru was the main focus of Altruistic Memories, and was in fact a romance- sorry fangirls, but in this story he's taken by Kusabana Ren. No need to worry; his personality, looks, demeanor, everything is intact, and I'll be writing his appearances as such to the best of my ability.**

**Without further delay, enjoy. **

**Divergent Replica**

**Chapter 1: The Man Whom Refused to End**

... It stuck for a moment, but after a quick extra tug to the left the knife was freed and blood spilled onto the grass nearby. The man's throat was no longer functional, and the life soon left his eyes.

"... Whoops."

For any other person, absolute panic would be amid this situation; he _had _just killed a man. For Hiwatose Naruaki, however, this was not exactly out of the ordinary. He'd done this before- a good many times, in fact. It wasn't as if he enjoyed taking a life, but he would do so were it to fit his needs or benefit him enough to grant the risk. His primary concern was the fact that the sun would probably rise in about an hour, and he had to find at least a temporary location to hide this corpse...

The young man, probably just hitting his twenties, clutched the person he'd slain at the shoulders so as not to let him drop straight to the ground. His eyes darted around to make sure there wasn't the odd witness nearby, a shade of brown that was almost red. His wavy black hair stopped just below his ears, parted at the middle with little concern. His face carried sharp features, his lips were thin, and his physique was gaunt but not unhealthy. His choice of clothing was quite simple; brown shoes and a lighter shade to the slightly large jacket he wore, a black muscle shirt underneath covering the belt that tightened the waist of mildly torn blue jeans. He may turn a few female heads here and there were he to walk down the street midday, but otherwise blended in beyond well, suiting his purposes just fine.

He wasn't too worried about immediate exposure; he'd been careful to slash the throat thinly for the least cast-off blood spray, and aimed it to land on and in the grass rather than paint a warning sign on the sidewalk or road, so the scene of the crime wouldn't be discovered quickly. Furthermore, the blood draining from his victim's throat was flowing down his body rather than over the sides and onto the ground as Naruaki had caught him quickly before he fell; lying down would give the blood the least distance to run before hitting the ground; now it had to roll down his whole body to start leaving a most noticeable trail.

Still, considering he'd gone for the throat, the blood was coming fast. Improvising a body dump until he got a better location and some transport was top priority. He heaved the larger man's unresponsive body, carrying him arm-over-shoulders. From a distance it would look like he was helping a drunken friend walk home, and was likely to get less blood on Naruaki this way. This neighborhood was particularly clean and friendly, but out of sheer luck he'd been jumped by the man who intended to mug him in this most unlikely of places. Much to this man's misfortune Naruaki acted on impulse.

For anyone else this would be a fair case of self-defense, even if a little sketchy due to how quickly the person in Naruaki's shoes had resorted to violence, but for Naruaki himself this would arouse suspicion after a few background checks due to unrelated events. Not having the luxury to risk that kind of attention, here he was looking to hide the evidence.

A small Shinto Shrine was seen to be his best bet, near a large blessed tree and likely the residence of the family overseeing the two religious items. The mailbox read 'Higurashi', but the name didn't strike a bell. Not wasting any more time, He managed to prop his dead weight against the wall of the shrine for a moment to inspect the door to a small but well-weathered shed near it. There was a padlock, but nothing that amazing; he snapped it with a few well-aimed strikes from the handle of his knife, dragging the body inside the rest of the way.

He shut the door, content with his own luck after a quick check of the room. The shrine was built around a well of some sort; even if the related family were to clean this place out fairly often, he could hide the dead man here for a longer period than he had previously intended, depending on the depth of the well. Retrieval when he needed to dispose of it properly would be an awkward task, but not impossible. He had managed to push his undesired luggage halfway over the edge of the hole, and then lifted his feet to flip him the rest of the way in... But the door he'd firmly shut rattled and began to open.

"The lock is broken, but it doesn't look like anyone's here..."

Naruaki made sure to slowly, carefully slide his fingers back from the edge of the well he was now inside the opening of; if this young boy -by the sounds of his voice- had enough light from outside to see the centerpiece of this shrine, digits gripping the lip of it would be about as out of the ordinary as finding strippers in the adjacent praying area. Now that he'd properly gotten his feet set against the sides of the well just below, he could afford to move his hands without risking the drop.

Speaking of which, the body hadn't hit the bottom yet. Even as the boy searched around a little bit to make sure nothing was stolen, the sound of dead flesh smacking stone never came. This made Naruaki more aware that one slip in his current position would probably mean his death. Agonizing minutes went by, and finally a shadow began to cover the opening above him... He reacted faster than the boy could blink.

Yanking himself upward with assistance from his newfound grip on the edges of the well rather than distribution of his limbs' pressure on the sides, Naruaki kept his left hand on the edge of the well but pushed the boy's shoulder with his right, turning him around and wrapping his arm around the kid's throat in one quick motion. A shout of surprise began to pop out of the boy's throat, but Naruaki squeezed tightly in order to shorten it to a small yelp.

"Dont cry for help. Don't struggle. I won't have to hurt you- so long as you cooperate."

The boy still wrestled in his grip briefly, but succumbed to his instructions once he calmly whispered them a second time. That was, until he abruptly shot back a sharp, bony elbow into Naruaki's chest, hard enough for him to lose his balance and his feet slip off the sides of the well. He fell, but the arm he'd used to choke the boy managed to grab the back of his collar for a moment before losing the flimsy handhold. The back of his head grazed the surface behind him and he clipped a leg off stone jutting out to his right, spinning him to face the void he plummeted toward.

Naruaki, swallowed by the dark abyss below, never touched the bottom.

.

.

.

To awake after such a sight before he blacked out at all was a surprise, but the searing pain that squeezed Naruaki's right leg was even less. Gripping the grass underneath him, he tried to at least sit up but the slightest movement of his leg sent a disastrous sensation up from there. Managing to roll onto his side, he looked down to see the middlemost of his leg on an awkward angle as it had come out of the socket. The sight laughed at him, as it made clear that an even greater agony was coming up next. He took in the area, seeing the body he'd thrown into the well a few feet away... as well as the well itself, in the middle of the glade they were now situated in.

Forgetting about that for the time being, Naruaki took his knife out of his back pocket, slicing down his pantleg to give his injury some breathing room. Wincing already, he cut some of the denim straight off in order to roll it up and clench it in his teeth. He hardly thought about it before giving his broken limb a quick and forceful jerk back into the right alignment.

The muffled roar of suffering that came from him at that moment forced the wildlife nearby out of the region in fright, and Naruaki didn't stop crying out for a full twenty-five minutes. His misery finally dropped to groans and hushed curses, and with a few minutes of rest he began to drag himself on his good side. Unfortunately... His strength hadn't been enough to set his leg entirely right with just the one attempt. Propping himself against a tree at the edge of his location, he repeated the action and reaction with a bit less time devoted to voicing his displeasure;

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

A voice permeated the nearby trees, the upper right-hand side of the glade from Naruaki. An elderly woman wearing a Miko uniform soon came into sight, and so too did the sight of a crippled man to the left and dead man to the right come to hers. She checked the one closest to the well, but it was clear he was gone; so she moved on to the other young man, clearly breathing.

"My goodness! Are you alright?"

"I won't be walking any time soon."

"What is your name?"

"... Naruaki."

"And just what happened here, Naruaki-san?"

"That man there was trying to rob me. I fought back and managed to cut his throat, but he fell forward and pushed me into that well. I dragged him down along with myself... After I awoke here, I had to reset my leg."

There were only so many ways to try and play his innocence here; having at least part of the truth bleed through in his story would make it sound more believable. What was usually a blank, emotionless look on his face Naruaki had softened in order to feign a better appearance of innocence as well, and the woman didn't seem to have any suspicions about his story. She stood back up from having kneeled to his height, glancing worriedly in the direction she had come.

"I can't carry you to the shrine by myself... I will return with help shortly. Don't try to move too much; I will only be a few minutes."

He merely nodded as she made haste out into the meadow nearby. If she came back with help, it would likely be someone who lived close by if not with her; however, calling the authorities would also be common sense at this point. As much as Naruaki wanted to flee, he wasn't physically capable of getting far, not to mention he would be incriminating himself were he not there by the time the old woman had returned. So, he waited.

.

.

.

The woman returned, pointing out Naruaki to the girl she'd brought with her. It was just the one; she was young, probably two to four years his younger, and she wore an orange and yellow floral patterned kimono. Her hair almost as dark as his fell just past her shoulders and flicked out a little at the ends, and some of it was tied up to one side. Of all things, he couldn't look away from her deep brown eyes; something about them seemed incredibly... pure. Innocent, even. It seemed a conversation between them neared its end, the topic having been him;

"... You're right; he _is_ wearing modern clothes. What do you think this means?"

"I've already sent word to Inu Yasha and Kagome. They should be on their way here."

Modern clothes? There were only so many things they could mean by that. And others being headed here meant that this 'Inu Yasha' or 'Kagome' must have been more reliable on the subject. He set the concerns aside as his leg decided to burst with a bit of pain, tensing his eyes shut in reaction. Without further delay, the two women took a stab at lifting him onto an old, poorly crafted stretcher. Gritting his teeth and growling back a cry, Naruaki exhaled deeply once set on the stretcher. The fact that he was underweight for his size was probably a blessing to these two as the teenager and elder both seemed less than muscular to say the least.

Shortly after having lifted the stretcher, the teen fumbled and dropped her end, for once it was lucky that his head had been on that side. She apologized and bowed at a rate of three each per second, making his head hurt more than the impact.

"Excuse me, but what's your name?"

"I'm sorry I'm-... er... it's Rin."

"Okay, Rin... Please forget that for now, and help her please."

The older lady had been crouching near her end, preparing to pick it up when Rin was finished, but her back seemed stressed in this position. Rin mumbled a few dozen more apologies before picking up her end again, only to let go once more as a voice reached their ears;

"Kaede, Rin! We're here-"

"Fffffffffuck! Gah... Mh. Set me down _gentler, _next time."

The myriad of apologies commenced for the second time, and Naruaki reached up to pat her leg as a sign of assurance. The two that had shown up were a black-haired woman that seemed a bit older, if not the same age as Naruaki, wearing a red kimono matching the oddly puffed-out getup her equally dark-haired male companion carried. All eyes dropped to him once who he assumed as Kagome kneeled down to his height. She winced herself when she looked over his knee area, which was already swelled drastically and tainted purple. The clothes, however, received the same remark;

"These are definitely from my era. And the fact that he was by the well... He must have come from modern time."

"Are you honestly claiming that I've _literally fallen _into the past?"

The four of them eyed him with a bit of shock; apparently, they didn't expect him to work it out himself, or at least to ask outright. Nonetheless, Kagome addressed the issue;

"Yes, that well you fell into... the well owned by my family... is a portal to the feudal era of Japan. Only to certain people, though. Forget asking any more questions; we need to get you to the village, and treated, so keep your questions for another time."

He grimaced as his leg flared again as if on cue, and shut his trap. With four people, this Rin girl couldn't possibly drop him again... Which, unfortunately, she did. The red-draped man and his wife seemed to bicker a lot, and Naruaki left the clumsy girl to her own incessant prattling by trying to sleep as he was carried off. Though his condition made it an easily interruptible slumber, he no less managed to attain it.

.

.

.

Waking again to a sharp ache in his lower limb, Naruaki craned his neck so as not to disturb the bandaging and splinting taking place with his bodily shifting. Kagome seemed apt at the task, and Rin seemed absolutely enthralled in her technique. He dropped back to the pillow behind his head after realized he was staring, but thought to himself now that he had been forced awake. As much as these people seemed to be serious, and the setting seemed proper in every way, the concept of a magic well that threw you back in time seemed too much of a fairytale for belief. The sights outside the window did nothing to improve his resolve, and soon he succumbed to the idea. Lying idly in a plain bed within a plain house, Naruaki never felt more serene than he did at this moment.

The fact of the matter was, if he were indeed in the feudal era, there was no modern science to be implemented against him, and his slate was clean. Right now, he was in the best possible position. Perhaps this vacation, even with such a wound, would prove peaceful...


	2. Ch 2: Discovery

**Divergent Replica**

**Chapter 2: Discovery**

Though Naruaki's stay with Kaede and Rin was a pleasantly tranquil one, it was turning out to be rather restless as well. Over the course of his first few days there, He felt the urge to get up and do things himself; and on came the scolding. As he hopped on one foot around the abode his weight against the sleek wood was hard to muffle, and he was usually caught almost immediately.

They would have tried to send him back through the well already (apparently yes, it was possible) but they couldn't drop him through with such an injury and expect him to come out the other side without a hitch. Also, it seemed the well was supposed to be _sealed_ and under watch by some 'reliable person' other than merely Kagome's family- chances were he wouldn't be able to go back that way regardless, and if Naruaki had fallen through the well, according to them it was likely he was allowed for some unknown reason.

Kagome visited fairly often, and more often than not dragged Inu Yasha along as well, but Naruaki assumed she came simply out of sympathy- she had been in the exact same position once before, minus the damaged appendage, and likely thought him to be feeling lost and alone. He was mostly just in pain, which would subside eventually.

Soon, Naruaki was forced to meet a few more people that had their connections to those he stayed with; a small boy with orange hair and an annoying voice, a brown-haired woman wearing a violet kimono that carried a big, curved object on her back, and her black-haired husband wearing a baggy black-and-purple getup. Shippo, Sango and Miroku as they claimed all seemed to eye him with the same interest his rescuers had had... He was also finding it odd that for a small village just about all the women had very expensive-looking clothes. At least the ones he'd been meeting, anyway.

"So you really are from Kagome's time. How did he make it through with 'that man' overlooking the well?"

Sango voiced the question after her statement, getting a unanimous answer of unknowing from the others of the room. She sighed, as seemingly her deductions had been exactly the same as the others thus far.

To break the silence, Rin happened to get through the door with a tray carrying meager food and water to his bedside, for once not falling on her face before completing a task. She stood proper and beamed energetically; it appeared she realized this as well and was proud of the fact. Honorifics had only begun to be added to her name when he spoke it after the fact, as during the time of his procurement pain had shrouded his thoughts, and oftentimes he still forgot to add it. Over the course of his stay thus far, he'd already come to the conclusion that he _did not like_ this girl;

Just about everything she did was for the good of others, which was respectable, but also rather stupid in his eyes- at least for how often this was the case.

There was almost never a point when she wasn't wearing some form of smile, and he was wrong about any reason she might be smiling at the moment nine times out of ten.

The villagers, those he knew and those he didn't, adored this girl like she was the sweetest thing since sugar. She basically was, but the way the majority of the people here set her atop a pedestal made him want to break legs. Ones that were not his.

He had either witnessed himself or heard her speak of the smallest of kind actions that made him think he'd somehow been brought to the plot of a Disney movie rather than the past of Japan; she bandaged the scraped knee on injured children, helped the villagers farm or carry groceries, sat outside as birds and other animals seemed to flock to her location- all of which he attempted to ignore.

Most of all, he could never look her in the eye without getting sucked in; not only did they reflect nothing but innocence, they also seemed to look right through him and see nothing but the good inside, if he had that. By looking into her eyes, he felt oddly exposed and helpless.

It wasn't as if he hated the girl; he hated the concept. The concept of someone who did good for the sake of it, with a pure heart, taking care of a guy like him and wore a never-ending smile seemed... fictional. A person like that shouldn't exist, couldn't exist. He spent any time where she was nearby trying to nitpick her actions for ulterior motives and disprove the airs she had on, but found no fault. The only times he could even think she was something other than a goody-two-shoes was when she scolded him for hopping around or another- Because she really knew how to tear him a new one. Apparently she'd learned the art from some Ren character that he had yet to come across, but he could care less.

At this point, he snapped back to reality and Rin's figure filled his vision, not too close, but fidgeting and slightly colored as she stared at him like a kitten. What the hell? Slowly, it hit him that _he'd _been the one staring, and all eyes were on him as to exactly why- apparently he'd had a stern look of disapproval, and Rin was busy trying to figure out what she'd done wrong. He shook his head to clear it as best he could before he wordlessly took the platter she'd brought in from the table, intending to start with the bowl of rice.

"It's fine; I was thinking about something unrelated... You can go now, Rin-chan."

Relieved of the awkward atmosphere, Rin smirked and nodded, dashing for the door shortly after. He watched her leave the room, and sighed once she was gone, but a new point of irritation found its way in... The other five in the room were still watching him; Miroku and Inu Yasha seeming confused, but the girls were giving him a sly grin and half-moon eyes, the kind of expression that said they were on to something. The insinuations made Naruaki smack a hand to his forehead, and mutter simply;

"NO."

"You're sure about that, Naruaki-_kun_?"

"Well beyond positive, thank you. I'd like to keep my appetite, if you're done."

They clearly weren't buying it, but at least they weren't going to delve any further. Though Miroku seemed to be fighting the urge now that he realized what they were getting at, and Inu Yasha looked ready to ask what the hell they had been talking about in the first place. He was going to have to get used to the fact that he would often be paid attention to while he was here, as much as he would love to stay out of sight.

.

.

.

Naruaki and Rin plainly exchanged eye contact for a time, as Naruaki was sitting on the floor of the bathing area, hands clasped around her wrists.

"Listen, Rin... I realize you're just trying to help. But the lower end of my body is crippled, not my upper. _I can remove my clothes just fine. _At any rate, I'd be asking Inu Yasha or Miroku for assistance _well_ before you."

"You shouldn't be so shy, Naruaki-san. You're wearing undergarments; it isn't like I'm stripping you forcefully-"

"Haven't you stopped to consider that perhaps there's something that I _do not _want you to see?"

She paused, and then a look of utter shock marred her face before she grew bright red. Soon as her eyes drifted toward his crotch, he cuffed her in the side of the head lightly.

"Nothing like that, you dunce. Just get out of here, please."

Too embarrassed about the guttural turn her mind took, Rin stood up and walked back out the door, sliding it shut behind her. The shuffling in the space behind the door proved that he was having a bit of a hard tim, but there was a splash of water soon; he'd managed to get down to business easily enough. Confident that he hadn't simply been acting tough, Rin went to walk toward the hearth Kaede was tending down the hall near the entrance.

Violent splashing, a short shriek of pain and some cursing tore apart Rin's notion of just fine, and she quickly made for the door she'd closed a few minutes ago. What she saw inside... made her heart momentarily stop, the blood in her veins grow cold, and her eyes grow wide with terror.

Naruaki sat with his back to the door, rubbing his leg as he was half-submerged in water... and a spider-shaped mark took up a third of his back.


	3. Ch 3: Alternating Atmosphere

**Divergent Replica**

**Chapter 3: Alternating Atmosphere**

The silent exchange of glares between Naruaki and Rin was much like the one that had happened five minutes ago; however, there was a notable difference in Rin; she wasn't smiling, for starters. He soon came identify what the case was; she was giving him _that _look. He'd only seen it a few times, as usually he didn't let a person stick around long enough to give it, but it was the look someone gives you as you train a gun to their forehead or pin a knife to their throat.

Naruaki was naked, in a small pool, and his entire right leg was inoperative.

For what _possible _reason could she be eyeing him like this?

"Rin... Calm down for a second. Just take a deep breath, and tell me why you're so frightened."

N-... Naraku.

She just kept looking at him after that. She mistook his name and then kept on ogling him- it was starting to make him feel self-conscious, even though that reaction probably should have happened a while ago. It occurred to him that his back was to her; and also the birthmark he'd wanted to hide. Was it that shocking to see? It was very, _very _identifiable, which was why he always kept it a foremost secret from everyone, but that was all he ever considered it. Sighing, he decided to play the deformity card;

"I know. It's hideous... I never wanted anyone to see this... thing... on my back. Could we just please forget about this?"

The stark fear that plastered her face seemed to be giving way, and now she seemed to be tipping toward the bewildered end of the scale. Soon she tore her eyes off his and bolted down the hallway, intending to pour everything she'd just witnessed into Kaede's lap no doubt.

Naruaki was incapable of giving chase, would have to put on clothes beforehand regardless, and was likely to have no way to talk her into sense considering he had not the faintest clue what just happened. So, he just went back to taking a bath.

.

.

.

The hygienic activity had been a refreshing one, although getting dressed and returning to his room was not. By the time he hobbled in, everyone was waiting for him- Kaede, Inu yasha, Kagome, even all their friends from earlier. They all glared suspiciously, and Rin stood near the bed staring at the floor. She seemed like she wanted to run over and help him to the bed, but at the same time was willing herself to ignore her own urges.

"It's a bit crowded in here, don't you think?"

Inu Yasha looked about ready to start either tearing him to shreds or holler loud enough to break glass, but a gentle hand from his wife seemed to be keeping him calm. Naruaki stumbled into the bed he'd been assigned since he arrived, and as Kagome opened her mouth to speak Naruaki beat her to the punch, as he had before showing a surprising amount of insight;

"Does the marking on my body carry some significant meaning in this era, or just to the bunch of you? Perhaps it's nothing so specific."

It was at this point that Inu Yasha broke free from Kagome's grasp, grabbing hold of Naruaki's shirt and lifting him slightly off the bed;

"Don't play dumb with us, Naraku! Why can't you just leave us in peace? The Jewel is gone! It's all over!"

Naruaki's hand was in his back pocket already, clutching his knife and prepared to unfold it. It was the first time he had ever been in this kind of situation, but so utterly lost that he was at a lack of rebuttal- and having the yellow eyes of this man so close was starting to bother him. Inu Yasha seemed to notice the change in Naruaki's demeanor, albeit slight, and smirked just before being pulled back by his friend.

"Let go of me, Miroku! I haven't liked this guy since we brought him here- and now I know why. Why would he even be near the shrine to be mugged there in the first place, huh?"

"SIT!"

Miroku abruptly let go of Inu yasha, whom against his will rocketed into the ground, drawing a curious gaze from Naruaki as he leaned over the bedside to see the aftermath. A similar smirk to the one Inu Yasha had had seconds ago had transferred to him as he leered down at Kagome's husband.

"So, now that we're civil... How about an explanation? I don't know this 'Naraku' person, but I assume we look enough alike? Not to mention it sounds like he wasn't very favorable."

Kagome and Inu Yasha glared at one another from their respective vantage points, and finally as the male averted his gaze she gave Naruaki the light of day;

"Naraku was our enemy. He was a half-demon made up of countless other demons which-"

"Just a minute here... Demons? They really exist in the past?"

"Well... They did. Recently, the demons of the world have reverted to a human state, or perished. All that remains are enchanted objects, really- like Inu Yasha's Tetsusaiga, or the prayer beads that keep him in line."

"I... see. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised by now."

Inu Yasha had been lying on the now-dented floor; rapping his fingertips with impatience as they spoke politely to the man he assumed was his mortal nemesis. Despite the fact that Kagome seemed to be giving Naruaki the benefit of the doubt, the rest of them were still on guard- apparently, taking their chances wasn't very appealing. Considering the guy had been a demon of some kind, mixed and matched from innumerous, Naruaki wouldn't be very trusting of his look-alike either.

Of course, fate would have his sanctuary back in time short-lived due to absolutely dumb luck... He still kept his hand behind him, disguised as propping himself but ready to take his only weapon in hand- he may not be able to talk his way out of this, but he could certainly try. Sango cut in, a bit less reserved than Kagome but far more than Inu Yasha at least;

"Inu Yasha does bring up a good point. Why would either of you be near the well at all?"

"He dragged me inside at first; the sun was rising and we were in a neighbourhood with families; it was likely that people would be getting up soon. He brought me somewhere more private; I took my chance when he used one of his hands to get the door shut."

"Most wouldn't think about that. I would've believed you more if you claimed you didn't know why he took you inside the shrine."

"I think about things much before I act on them. Being too reckless at that moment could have gotten me killed- I almost died still."

A groan came from Kaede, and she stepped up by the bed, between Naruaki and the group. This was the last thing anyone was expecting. She gestured to Naruaki, tugging at his shirt- her orders were clear and reluctantly he obeyed, as it seemed she wasn't against him at the moment.

He'd turned to hang his good leg over the bedside, and face his back to the group; once the marking was revealed, the shock couldn't be contained- Kagome actually had to make use of the beads again to make sure Inu Yasha didn't jump the gun. Kaede snapped her fingers to get everyone's attention;

"I thought this to be obvious, but I assume I'll have to clarify what this may mean... Obviously this is too accurate for coincidence, but remember those who fell through the well before Naruaki-san. Kagome and Ren-sama, yes? And both of which were?..."

Sango was the first to respond with the answer Kaede was looking for, and once voiced the rest of the group jumped as the pieces fell into place;

"They were both _reincarnations_ of someone belonging to our era?"

"Precisely. Now, both Kagome and Ren-sama could not be any more different from their ancestral heritages. What do you think of Naruaki-san? Perhaps the method of his arrival is questionable, but I have yet to find any reason to believe Naruaki is evil. Though, the person to spend the most time with him is standing in this room- Rin, what is your opinion here?"

Naruaki listened absent-mindedly to the remainder of what Kaede was saying, still mulling over the idea of being this Naraku individual's future rebirth. It was an interesting subject to say the least, and the fact that it had been a monster he was so distantly connected to didn't strike him as odd. As soon as Rin's voice permeated the room, he quickly returned his attention to her;

"Naruaki-san... isn't evil. He may have done things that were bad, but he probably doesn't think of them that way."

To hear her defending him in a way after all that had happened was unanticipated, but welcome of course. Again, Naruaki found himself in a position that -according to Kaede- Kagome had been in as well; likely the reason she'd been shielding him from the start from her now-violent companion. Though Rin's idea of him seemed to have put them basically at ease, she hadn't exactly said he was a saint... at present, Naruaki gladly took apprehensive over accusational.

There was an extensive quiet as Naruaki put his shirt back on and attempted to get comfortable once again; he had dodged a bullet here, but it had grazed him no less. He would have to be careful about the remaining time he spent in recovery, and how exactly he would leave once fully healed.

A terrified scream pierced the lack of sound, coming from outside- followed by bellowing laughter and the shout of a villager in panic; "Bandits!"

Lady luck seemed bent on screwing him today.


	4. Ch 4: Lack of Alternative

**Divergent Replica**

**Chapter 4: Lack of Alternative**

The small, peaceful village that Naruaki had been spending his last few weeks lazing around in was now tumultuous with the sounds of it being marauded. The tenants of the room, with this new development, all jumped into action; Kaede and Rin intended to evacuate the closest villagers into the shrine's basement, while Miroku went to warn some relative of Sango's and the rest of a clan they were talking about. Inu Yasha and Kagome left to whereabouts they hadn't elaborated on, and Sango... tossed away her Kimono for a skintight suit underneath, already prepared for battle.

"I take it this has happened before?"

As much as bandits raiding a small village were commonplace in the past, he hadn't expected such exact countermeasures. As he asked out loud, the remaining Sango turned to look at him as she intended to leave- and realized they had forgotten to either tell Naruaki where the basement here was or help him get there in the first place. She got under his arm and lifted, answering him as she did so;

"Out of the many demons that have become human, most of them wound up like this- bandits, highwaymen. Of anyone to have a grudge against, though, Inu Yasha is one of the most hated- he and Kagome, Miroku, Shippo and myself all went on a journey together; chasing Naraku, intending to put him to justice and recover the Shikon jewel."

"Shikon jewel?"

"I'll get to that another time."

Helping Naruaki limp down the hallway, she hastily summarized the rest of her response as the door to the basement came up;

"During that journey, countless demons were slain at our hands. They might have deserved their fate, but after all demons were returned to human state, Inu yasha was as well- he had been half demon before. The scales were equaled out in power now- and a number of attempts on his life and the ones he loves followed. I asked the remainder of the Demon Slayers to relocate here for our safety."

The continuous stream of common folk, mainly women and children, pouring into the small opening marked the chamber down these stairs as the basement, and Sango passed off Naruaki to Kaede before taking off herself. He was still a ways in the dark about the history that led up to this point, but now really wasn't the time- she did have work to do. Those that were scared and behind him on the steps pushed him into haste, making him stumble a bit and nearly fall- he was thankful to make it to the bottom without harm, taking a seat as the remainder of the village flowed inside.

It was a bit crowded, but nothing too serious- the walls were wood but the floor hadn't been furnished, and light was scarce -even more so once the door shut- though Kaede and Rin descended the stairs carrying a lamp. There were whispers, whimpers and sniffles reverberating off the walls, making this cramped little box even less comfortable...

"... Kaede-dono, I've come to know the bare minimum of Inu Yasha's past that has brought this on, as well as his relationship with this Naraku fellow. Would you mind satiating my curiosity more on the matter?"

Kaede looked over all the fearful members of the room before resting on the calm Naruaki; it might be that she took it as his suggestion of a way of calming the frightened villagers, at which point she nodded and commenced the story. Naruaki merely wanted to know more about what was happening, and how the people he had come to meet relatively fit into it all- but also, to prove some hunches he had developed...

.

.

.

As the old woman's voice, though hushed, continued telling of Kagome and Inu Yasha's odyssey, Naruaki's perceptions were leading to be correct; As the only two material objects other than clothing on Inu Yasha had been the beads and the sword strapped to his waist, the reality that it was this 'Tetsusaiga' that Kagome had brought up was brought to light. Though the weapon itself was even more powerful than he'd anticipated, it only strengthened his idea that the man was to be trifled with about as much as a hungry predator. Sango's giant boomerang made her second most dangerous on his list; while the other three had lost any significant strength they'd had...

Quietly, the door above the stairs creaked open, drawing all breath from the people around him only to be let go when Kagome cautiously shut it again. Descending the steps, she sat next to he, Kaede and Rin... and held two babies, cradled in her arms. She didn't look very pleased, but the presence of the children in her arms seemed to be keeping her composed.

"You're a mother? You look anything but."

"I guess I should take that as a compliment... Yes, these are my children; Kokuga and Sayo."

The two infants looked aloof as most were, taking in their surroundings at all times as their memory likely couldn't support it all. The uneasiness that came with being in an unfamiliar environment was voice by their small coos now and then, but Kagome did well as a motherly figure to keep them hushed.

Children of such an age always looked unnatural to Naruaki; sure, they move, they breathe, they eat. But the lack of any developed sentience as of yet coupled with the incapability to do even the simplest of actions made them feel more like a delicate, interactive object. He wouldn't share this opinion of course, but it went to show how well he dealt with them at times where it were necessary or asked of him. Gladly, now was not one of those times.

Despite Kaede's storytelling having been interrupted, it seemed Kagome's attendance calmed the villagers much as her children did her; it did not last though, as there was an ungodly quiet that made the atmosphere begin to grow ill at ease again. Once the cellar doors were opened with an obnoxious clatter the screech of those caught off guard below alerted any whom had opened these doors to their success. Naruaki caught glimpse of shadows belonging to the men descending to their location; at least three so far. His thoughts turned to the analytical and developed at breakneck pace;

Those surrounding him were made up of every non-combatant the village held. Even if Kagome had the bow and arrows she was said to be so apt with, they were in a tight and crowded space with multiple adversaries. If Inu Yasha were really their target, Kagome would be their primary one at this moment; along with their kids. There weren't many options.

Kagome stood up, as if to protect the innocents behind and around her as the four men showed themselves, torches carried and displaying every dark corner. He saw only so many ways out of this, and took his chance- He stood up, and drew the knife from his back pocket...

His wrist was at Kagome's exposed throat, the blade touching her jugular.

"..."

A wave of shock and appall crashed over the tenants of the room, villagers and rogues alike- the most notable on Kagome, but Naruaki didn't see the changes nor did he care. Ignoring the disapproval of his mangled leg, he spoke up;

"If any of you intend to wreak havoc on these folk or even myself, Higurashi Kagome dies... and with her death goes your trump over Inu Yasha."

The chorus of anger and loathing that rose from the villagers nearby caused him not a moment's wavering; he merely stared with cold disposition at the men holding the flames. They glanced between each other as if expecting one or the other to take the negotiator's role, and he didn't wait for them to conclude on one;

"My conditions are as follows; I will hold her hostage, even before Inu Yasha himself once the time comes. You four will escort me to your superior, and leave the rest of these people in peace- there's no point in wasting any more time here. I've not been with these people long at all; their lives mean nothing before my own. I will cut her throat, and all of you will be screwed."

Glares of disgust and hatred scorched his back, ignored by the recipient until the four men gave a notion of consent.

"Alright, stranger. We'll listen for now... get between these two."


	5. Ch 5: Tarnished Image

**Divergent Replica**

**Chapter 5: Tarnished Image**

This was good. Naruaki had already gotten the go-ahead from these men; it meant they were a bit more malleable than he had expected, though he probably should have set his bars lower considering they were likely here for the sake of ruining the town and merely following more specific orders from a larger man than themselves. He hadn't quite moved yet, however; instead he addressed Rin with a simple few words that might have made some of those in the room reconsider his actions;

"What are you waiting for, Rin? Take your children."

Rin hesitated only a moment before realizing what Naruaki had asked, gingerly scooping both of Kagome's children from her grasp and taking a seat back with the villagers. The four bandits each had their own brand of skepticism at what just transpired, but Naruaki made more demands before they could address their disbeliefs;

"If you think I'll agree to being surrounded in a small staircase, you must take me for a fool. That both puts me at risk and gives at least one, maybe two of you chance to go back down at any moment to renege our agreement. I'll be taking up the rear; this is clearly the only exit, so stand by the opening above until I arrive. After that, _all four_ of you will take me to your boss."

They began to glance between each other like lost puppies again, at which point Naruaki pricked Kagome's neck with the tip of his knife, a drop of blood forming fast. She winced, but he ignored it.

"Did I stutter? Get moving, please."

With motivation from Naruaki's threat, the four of them hastily followed his instructions and began ascending the steps they had descended moments ago with full intentions of killing everyone below. He snuck a look at those he had just saved from death before following suit, catching all of the malice from practically every villager with his own eyes for once. Only Kaede and Rin looked upon him with what may have been worry... He forced Kagome ahead of him, both now climbing to the surface.

They were a few steps behind the bandits, and Kagome took her chance to whisper her thoughts to Naruaki;

"... there is still time to do the right thing, Naruaki. If you let me go at the top of the stairs, I can-"

Naruaki let go of her arms with his other hand to cuff her in the back of the head, and then returned it to its previous task. Once in the hallway that connected to the back of the shrine, he showed no indication of heeding her words as the four men led them outside.

.

.

.

Soon after passing the many ransacked homes and a few corpses did they reach almost dead center of the village; sounds of combat were coming from the other end of the village now, but none of the participants were in sight. The men that were in sight numbered twenty or so.

The four men reported in to probably the largest man Naruaki had ever seen; his muscles looked like they might explode at any given moment, and he was at least eleven feet tall. The man's hair was a dark brown, covering a large portion of his face as unkept as it was. He only really wore a small plate strapped over his chest and torn pants, as well as carrying a large one-handed sickle at his waist that for anyone else would have required two. He heard the story from the frontmost of the four, and after only a few moments he batted him aside with one hand, knocking him off his feet and a few feet away before approaching Naruaki and his captive;

"You... you intend to survive this by selling her out?"

"I intend to survive this ordeal however I can. What happens to this woman and Inu Yasha has about as much meaning to me as what happens to a rabbit being skinned in a neighboring town. Does it make any difference to you who puts the threat of harm to this girl?"

"Heh. I like you, little man... Alright, then."

The enormous fellow was about to tell one of his men close at hand to report to the rest of his men currently fighting about the capture of Kagome and their subsequent retreat, but Naruaki cut him off;

"Before we do that, I've got some questions."

"Oh? Ask them, then."

"You can't possibly think this is all it will take to put Inu Yasha to his death. From what I've been told, this woman has been kidnapped more times than I can count. What kind of backup plan do you have if this scheme goes south?"

"... Backup plan?"

"Don't play stupid with me... Even this riffraff you've roped together would have come up with some excuse of a plan B, however insubstantial. He has a _giant sword_ that can kill _hundreds_ in one stroke- you can't tell me you aren't the slightest bit prepared to at least buy time to run from that."

The massive bandit leader scowled, unwilling to tell this man who had just arrived and not to mention Kagome still had eyes and ears. However, Naruaki followed his line of sight as it fell on a man close by carrying a spear. He was wearing a hood, and otherwise nothing about him really stood out... But the spear itself seemed unexpectedly ornate.

His questions could not advance any further, as a dozen or so more bandits joined the ranks of those already swarming this place from both ahead of them and to their left, making their numbers rise to that of about forty-five not including Naruaki or the leader. Inu Yasha and Sango, leading about twenty-five to thirty of these so-called ex demon slayers, soon came chasing around the corner for the few that had joined them from up ahead. He followed the leader as he stepped out from amid his men, standing next to him. The spearman he had eyes on earlier seemed to be making sure his position was close to both his and the leaders, though not directly in front as they were.

Acting as if his leg was not injured and walking on it normally was taking its toll on Naruaki, but if he showed any signs of weakness it was likely someone would try to take advantage of it, whether it were Inu Yasha or one of the many vagabonds he was in front of. Until this was over, he would have to bear the pain...

Naruaki couldn't help but glower as Inu Yasha took in the sight of him holding Kagome at knifepoint, an expression of unparalleled rage rising up from the man's gut. As his captive and the bandits' target longingly stared at one another, Naruaki's mind was somewhere else- Inu Yasha was holding a Katana in both hands, but Tetsusaiga was still sheathed at his side. Why? There was no reason to have anything else brandished at these men right now. As he internally swam through possible reasons, the most likely one bit him in the ass; if his assumptions were correct, then they were in an even direr situation than he previously thought...

"Inu Yasha! I'll make this short and sweet; if you want your precious wife back, lay down the Tetsusaiga and come over to us, hands where I can see them."

Inu Yasha grit his teeth, but took the still-sheathed blade off his waist and set it by Sango's feet, moving toward the bunch slowly as Sango's protests fell on deaf ears. Naruaki wracked his brain for a way out of this- and most of his thoughts rest with taking the bandits' side until the very end... He sighed, then caught his breath, as if he were punched in the stomach at that very moment.

"Hey, big guy. Tell Inu Yasha to stop there."

"What for?"

"I'll tell you, but you may want to put that order out before it's too late."

The towering outcast stared down at him for what felt like eons before he bellowed out to Inu Yasha, telling him to stop where he was. Bewildered, but complacent, Inu Yasha stopped about ten feet from Kagome. Naruaki motioned with his head for the leader to kneel down to his height; as it was more than likely this was for the same reason the big man had kept silent about their failsafe before, he drooped down to Naruaki's level...

And it was not for the same reason.

"Your petty grudge will never be enough to kill that man, nor anyone he cares for."

Naruaki extended his arm holding the knife from Kagome's throat, slashing at the leader's and slicing through about a third of the meaty length. Sooner than his minions could react, he swung his now fully extended arm back the way it came in a horizontal arc, pushing Kagome forward toward Inu Yasha once his arm was no longer impeding her and plunging his knife into the chest of the spearman just behind him, all in one very fast motion.

The leader held a hand to his neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding, drawing his weapon with the other as the many bandits behind them attempted to take action. Naruaki turned, carrying the spearman with him and holding him as a shield much like he had Kagome seconds ago. The difference was that he took the spear out of the man's now failing hands and held the point up at these men threateningly, dropping the now spearless man in the process.

Naruaki was led to be correct, as every single one of them -including the leader- backed away from him as if he were volatile.

"Otegine... He's taken the Otegine! What should we do?"

There was a long pause, longer than Naruaki's leg would have liked in the position it was now in, but finally Sango's boomerang slammed into the Bandit leader while the rest were quickly overtaken in their fright of the spear, the ex-demon slayers now undaunted by a hostage situation. There were no options left to these men other than to retreat or die, and they chose the former as just about all of them began to flee for the surrounding forest. Finished with heroics as well as any other form of physical exertion, Naruaki stabbed the Otegine into the ground in order to lean on it.

He wasn't paying attention, but Naruaki heard something to the effect of "You Bastard!" prior to Inu Yasha's fist colliding with his face, knocking him to the ground. He didn't even really attempt to get up, as the pain in his leg only multiplied with any movement he made. The red-clad former half-demon filled his vision as he lay with nothing but the sky to look at, and it seemed he was about to get decked again-

"SIT!"

Much to Naruaki's surprise, Inu Yasha plummeted to the ground as Kagome approached. She sat with both knees to the ground, trying to soothe Naruaki's miserable limb- it wasn't really working, so he feebly slapped her hands away. Looking at her face, it seemed she was rather angry with him as well; yet her next few words showed exactly why she had herself under control;

"Naruaki-san... You must be one of the most dreadful people I have ever met. But... Thank you. Thank you for putting the villagers, as well as my children, first."


	6. Ch 6: Wake up Call

**Divergent Replica**

**Chapter 6: Wake up Call**

"...Your thanks are in the right place, but you have no right to call me detestable from just that."

As Naruaki lie on the ground and Kagome sit just near him, they stared at one another in silence for a moment, and her face was priceless.

"E-excuse me?"

"I'm currently handicapped, I was surrounded by none but innocents and a mother of two, and more of those degenerates were sure to come. Doing anything other than take you hostage in that moment would have been reckless and plainly stupid. I came through on all fronts in the end, so quit your whining."

"... Slug him again, Inu Yasha."

"With pleasure."

Kagome stood up and watched as Inu Yasha clutched Naruaki's collar, beating him straight into the ground much like the beads had done him moments ago. She hadn't been telling Naruaki that she disliked him for what he did; she knew there was very little recourse back then- she simply found that he was all too convincing. She had legitimately feared for her life, and the life of her husband, but when these lives were at stake Naruaki had seemed to have no care at all- if that were just a ruse, acting that good made her sick to her stomach. Still, the act had saved the lives of everyone here that held a place in her heart- she could not be any more grateful.

The man was now unconscious, and the ex-demon slayers were gathering the remaining bandits they could catch -which was practically all of them- at the other end of the village, meaning that this fiasco was over and done with. Without having to ask for once, Inu Yasha was doing as she would have instructed him to do; pick up Naruaki, carefully, and take him back to the infirmary room at the shrine. The former half-demon's gaze flickered over the enormous man that had been the cause of all this, now feebly clinging to life for the next few moments as his blood drained rapidly out of his throat. There was no pause in Inu Yasha's stride, and soon this distasteful image would no longer be his problem.

.

.

.

Strangely enough, with regaining his consciousness the first of Naruaki's senses to follow was taste; the taste of iron, slightly salty besides, but only an aftertaste reminding him that there had been blood there before. Such an awakening seemed expectable, but it took him a few moments to remember why... He had, in fact, been punched -twice- by an allegedly former half-demon. Once Naruaki could finally pry his eyelids open, he sat up to see where he was now.

He managed to get about an inch before the restraints kept him at bay. Both the comfort of a soft bed beneath his horizontal body and the discomfort of tight restraints crossed over him were equally unexpected. The fact that they hadn't shackled him inside of some dungeon like the cellar they hid inside of beforehand meant that they weren't quite certain of his character despite his display, meaning decisive action was yet to be justified other than tying him down. The next person to enter this room was bound to be either his judge or at least his jury; there was no defense save his own on this trial. Just as the thought crossed his mind did Sango enter the room, already eyeing him with distaste.

"This is stupid."

"You're a charmer in the morning."

"There was no point in strapping me to this thing- with that last situation's outcome we were back to square one."

Sango crossed her arms, her expression making way for one of skepticism. "Oh? How do you figure?" Already Naruaki was rolling his eyes, his entire head mimicking the motion as well. He seemed as if he was prepared to gesture in some way to highlight the argument he was about to make, but the straps he'd clearly already forgotten held him at bay, as intended.

"I'll get straight to the point; I may not be as innocent as I made myself out to be in the first place, and my background might be shady, but not once have I thought of harming you people. You're fixing my leg, for heaven's sake. So while you sit here binding me on suspicion of being someone you've killed –multiple times over, might I add- all I've done to support those doubts is rescue the person I should in theory _despise the most_. Oh wait, that isn't supporting- it's the exact opposite!"

The sarcasm he'd glued to the end didn't seem to impress Sango; in fact, she seemed unfazed entirely. She started pacing the room near the foot of his bed, her eyes never leaving his.

"We've already set aside the idea that you're Naraku… However, that 'last situation' revealed a bit more of your character than I liked. You moved with a killer's intent, acted without sympathy- I'm not even an expert on reading people, but you were an open book during that exchange, Naruaki."

He scowled as she went on, knowing his ruse was up entirely. He was hoping to get away with just a bad personality, but she saw exactly what he was capable of- and in a world where demons no longer existed, his kind were the real monsters. Naruaki's bitterness dropped away; in reaction to the softening of his interrogator's.

"There is just one thing, one moment that I don't get… That look you had, right before the bandits' leader stooped down to your height. Just before you betrayed those men something came to you, and that thought made you save my friends. I'd like to know what that 'something' is."

She had leaned just a bit closer throughout this elongated question; mainly responding to the shrinking prisoner the question was getting to. She had definitely hit something he didn't want to discuss… Sango pressed further.

"You won't be fooling me again anytime soon, Naruaki. Coming clean is the only way those bonds will be removed. Otherwise, I'll leave you here for a few hours and come back to ask you once more. Now what will it be?"

It seemed she'd gotten somewhere as he looked her in the eye once more- but then his attention was attracted to something past her. When she followed his gaze and moved slightly aside, the man in the doorway was the last she had expected; and soon she knew that her processing of Naruaki was cut short when the new arrival rudely shoved past her to lay a hand on Naruaki's throat.

Just when it looked like Naruaki could smooth things over peacefully, a surprise judge had barged into his interrogation and the verdict quickly escalated to death. The first thing he noticed about the man trying to strangle him was that he closely resembled a no-nonsense and intelligent Inu Yasha;, something he had quickly come to think could not exist. Naruaki let sharp gacks escape his throat as he could not struggle, and the grip on his throat tightened despite Sango's interference, trying to take the hand away from its prey. Black dots began invading his vision, threatening to overcome him as he would pass out, but a voice permeated the room that seemed to force mercy into this man from the wrist down;

"Do you forget that we are guests right now, dear husband? That attitude is hardly appropriate."

The clutch on Naruaki's throat lessened, then finally gave way entirely to allow passage of oxygen once more. He coughed without restraint, but quickly regained composure as well. Once his vision cleared, he gave the new faces in the room a look over; there was now a woman standing next to the cold-blooded Inu Yasha look-alike, though now that he actually took in the details, there was a family resemblance but nothing more; he had sharper features and a more imposing demeanor, setting the two apart most definitively. She had pin-straight brown hair, brilliant blue eyes and an odd mixture of immature but dangerously commanding airs. Like Sango, she also gave the impression of being rather perceptive. Aside from that, a small boy with parted black hair and those same eyes held the woman's hand, and was beholding Naruaki like he were nothing short of a candy-coated superhero.

The staring lasted quite some time, and just as Naruaki went to address the woman the boy spoke up;

"... I'm Ninigi."

"Good for you."

"I'm three years old!"

As if Naruaki's mind could not grasp exactly how large the number three really was, Ninigi held out his hand with three fingers unfurled. Naruaki went to clap unenthusiastically, but succeeded only in rattling his bed frame and falling back on keeping a poker face. The woman holding Ninigi's hand let him go, the child deciding this meant he could approach the stranger and climb up onto the bed next to his legs; The darker-haired companion that had tried to suffocate him prior shot her a glare that could cut steel. Entertainingly, the one he was given in response made him falter, though not back down.

"What's _your_ name?"

"Naruaki."

"Why did Nee-san tie you down?"

"Because I look like a bad man. And sound like a bad man. And act like one..."

"Doesn't that mean you're a bad man?"

"... Sometimes I wonder."

Who he assumed was Ninigi's father looked about ready to burst an artery, though it only showed in his face. The lack of what he saw was really what gave it away; the man's subtle squints and slight grimaces were only drawn out if he were riled up to a greater degree. His wife –again, as he assumed- took his hand and seemed to calm him down;

"Sesshomaru-sama... He deserves a chance. Kagome-nee and I myself could not be any more different from our past selves. There were similarities, of course, but they did not define us. That having been said..."

The woman approached the bedside and began loosening the restraints, followed by removing them altogether.

"Ren! Get away from him this instant-"

"If he turns out to be as awful as you seem to expect, he'll just have to die~ You and your brother are both adept at making that happen, I know. But you aren't some monster who'll tear my guts out, now are you, Naruaki?"

Her choice of words had multiplied the tension in her husband at least tenfold, but she either didn't notice or chose to ignore. Finally able to sit up, Naruaki stretched and rubbed at where he might've been sore.

"I'm most certainly not, Ren-san-?"

Naruaki found himself flicked lightly in the forehead by the woman, now carrying an expression more aggressive than before.

"That will be 'Ren-_sama', _from you. And just so we're clear... If you do anything unpleasant to my family, or my friends, there is neither distance you can run nor place you can hide from me."

Naruaki duly noted her threat.


	7. Ch 7: Something More

**Divergent Replica**

**Chapter 7: Something More**

For the first time since his arrival at the little shrine, Naruaki was in well enough condition to walk on his own. He had a crutch at the moment, but it was basically a precaution now so long as he didn't do something stupid such as breaking his joint again. Now that he was able to willingly move without being scolded, he found himself in company of the many people he'd met over the course of the month and a half, for better or worse as he got back into the habit of activity.

The monk Miroku, whom was married to Sango and with three children himself, seemed easygoing and kind enough in a detached sort of way; although at first he hadn't seemed ready to let go of his grudges toward Naruaki's predecessor he had eventually turned to the brighter side upon several meetings. Sango herself was often found beside her lover, whether she be trying to take her husband's example in terms of attitude toward Naruaki or beating the man silly after copping a feel she wasn't the worst person to spend time with. Kaede's duty to her village and shrine took up much of her time, but they had managed to sneak in a conversation here and there. Kagome and Rin were the only ones to actively seek him out, Rin still feeling obligated to ensuring his wellbeing and Kagome now content with his presence as Naruaki shared her opinion of her hard-headed husband.

InuYasha, as it stood, still hated his guts. The man often called him a bastard or other such cusses and kept their talks short if there were one, and more than once he had been on the verge of leading an attack on him if Kagome had not been around to tell him to sit more times than not. The former half-demon's half brother, the one who had introduced himself by forcibly shutting the helpless Naruaki's windpipe, would act close to the same when in eyeshot save for the absent-minded insults to glaze on top of his hate. Ren seemed indifferent, using her playful personality and Ninigi's attendance to thinly mask her watchful gaze. All in all -excluding a few of them- the tension had severely lessened.

Being able to appreciate the scenery firsthand rather than through the windows now, Naruaki noticed that he often fell deep into thought when not in the presence of the others; normally this would not be a strange occurrence, however before now he hadn't questioned himself much. Ever since the hostage incident and the variety of responses he got to it second guessing his logical approach was all he would do, the only time he was not being when he would reflect on what Rin had said in his defense;

_"Naruaki-san... Isn't evil. He may have done things that were bad, but probably doesn't think of them that way."_

After returning to the statement the first time, it began to haunt him more and more; what did she mean, exactly? The only way his brain could turn over the meaning to himself was that she meant he was ignorant of the weight of his actions, and that this gave him amnesty to a more brutal punishment. Unless he were insane, this sort of argument would not have held up in a modern-day court of law, and at first he had clearly dismissed it as the girl's guilt-ridden conscience shielding Naruaki for some cheap self-indulgence. Now the remark ate at him like a parasite with a taste for black hearts... The other thing about Rin that he had taken notice to was that her clumsiness and wistful daydreaming had virtually vanished from her daily activity, a matter which he had chosen to bring up with her;

"It seems as if falling on your face and dropping things was a hurdle you had no trouble clearing over the past little while."

His exceedingly blunt approach caught the scarcely younger female off guard, as they sat side-by-side at the Shrine's outer walkway with a fair bit of distance between the two. Her absent-minded kicking of her feet as they dangled just above the ground halted when Naruaki made such a statement and her cheeks flushed a bit in recollection of her past behaviour.

"Well... When we first met, there was a lot on my mind... You look so similar to Naraku that I had had suspicions from the start. That's why I panicked when I saw your birthmark... But, now that I'm confident that you aren't him, I've been able to keep my wits about me."

Well, that was unexpected. To him, Rin's air-headedness and ditzy demeanor had been a staple in who she was, but as it turned out it was just a trait she had when her thoughts were overrun. While Naruaki had an internal soliloquy about just what this meant for the remainder of his stay, Rin smiled, but it was short lived as a dull expression overwrote it. A pause followed, before she leaned forward to see Naruaki's face more clearly;

"I'm sorry for not trusting you, Naruaki-san."

"Don't be. In your shoes, I still wouldn't."

Naruaki saw a change in her eyes, like shock, before subtly converting to a sweet smirk. It seemed hardly fitting at the moment until she spoke up;

"I didn't know you could do that."

"... What would 'that' be?"

"You smiled, Naruaki-san."

He had? The look he had on must have shown his own bewilderment at this, because Rin laughed with that tiny voice of hers. Her feeble kicking of the air had begun again, the comfort of the atmosphere having returned, or perhaps more precisely it had improved. An overly shrill voice belonging unmistakably to Kagome soared over to their ears from some several yards away, along with a loud crashing sound that always came soon after. Miroku jogged by waving at them as his twin girls clung to him like he were some vehicle in the disguise of a monk, with Sango following closely after with their youngest cradled gently. From the opposite direction came Sesshomaru carrying a noble stride despite the little rambunctious son atop his shoulders, trying to reach out to his mother who merely laughed. As this tranquil and joyful show developed before them, the next words out of his mouth seemed to come from some distant place that he was unfamiliar with;

"You lead a blissful life, don't you?"

"You can share it with us, if you like."

It was difficult for Rin to dissect what she was seeing in Naruaki once he faced her after that; there was any number of things, most of which seemed to conflict with each other, and yet his expression was utterly still until a grimace veiled it entirely. He wilted slightly again, looking toward the families that were once feudal adventurers. Without warning, Rin's hand collided with his back, nearly making him fall chest-first from their short perch closely pursued by his rounding on her in bafflement. She was giving him that look she normally would when he would attempt to escape his assigned room while his leg was still in horrible condition, and before he could brace for it she began to chastise him;

"You always do that! You're slouching, _again_! No wonder you think you look shady when you sit around glowering like that all the time! Straighten up your shoulders, quite leaning on your arms. And quit staring down on an angle like that- nobody can see your eyes. That's always what people look for first, eye contact! You should remember that; Sesshomaru-sama said it's disrespectful to avoid it."

While she was talking she corrected his posture for him rather than wait for him to do so himself, granting her a disapproving stare. After having fixed her pet peeve for the time being, Rin cast some of her bangs behind her ear and relaxed in her seat once more. There was really no winning when it came to this girl...

"Already getting into lover's spats, are you? Ah, I remember when I was your age, a young bachelor with a cursed, all-engulfing vortex in my hand..."

Miroku had gotten his daughters to let go for now, and having doubled back to meet with Sango he'd caught their short episode with the way Naruaki presented himself. Sango rolled her eyes at her husband's comment which belied her grin at Rin's reaction, color finding its way up while she fidgeted and meekly disagreed. Naruaki was largely obstinate; he could see why Rin's friends and family were taking these types of jabs at the two of them but the last place he would be looking for a romantic partner would be back in time. Once he could leave this crutch behind, they would be seeing if the well would accept him back at all- and if it did not, then he would focus on making some kind of life here, essentially burning that bridge when shown that the other had been in ashes from the beginning.

Naruaki took up his crutch again, carefully setting down from the walkway on his good foot first so as not to incur another earful from Rin. He was intending on trying to procure some reading material and get some time alone when Sesshomaru hurriedly passed him by, followed closely by Ren and Ninigi. The child was chanting something about a grandmother, which seemed to have both of his parents out of sorts, not something Naruaki had expected to see very easily. His interest had been piqued, and he followed a ways behind due to his slow pace. Rin had hopped down and joined him, apparently excited to see this person again from the spring in her step- then again, it seemed because of past experiences she held Sesshomaru as a father figure on a high horse, and in tandem everyone closely related.

Once out in front of the Shrine, it wasn't hard to spot the woman in question, although he hardly believed her to be a grandmother; she looked maybe just a bit older than he, with incredibly long black hair done up in twin tails behind her. She wore some interesting make-up along with very extravagant clothes, multiple layers and the outermost with fluffy fur trim. Considering how many people had black hair and blue eyes out here it was no wonder that such genetics became common in his era of origin. He could clearly see the resemblance to her son even in the woman's steps, and soon her family was greeting her;

"Welcome, Mother."

"Izayo-obaa-chan!"

Sesshomaru's mild-mannered welcome was overridden by his child's energetic announcement of her name, followed by hugging her legs. She pat Ninigi on the head in that recognizably loving way that a grandparent may. Eventually her son asked;

"What are you doing here? I had thought you wanted to remain at the estate."

"With naught but Jaken to spend my time speaking with? Of course not."

Naruaki's thoughts drifted while she interacted with her family, seeing as he was a stranger there was no reason to welcome her himself. Besides, it was likely that she would treat him coldly or take her son's example, trying to choke the life out of him upon sight. Just as he meant to leave them to their own devices, all of their eyes had set to the left; once following their gaze, he saw why.

A small blue flame, hovering a few inches off the ground, was creeping closer to Izayo...


End file.
